| Short Term Apartment Rentals Ban Hits Budget Travellers in New York |
| Written by Divya Chhibber |
| Tuesday, 03 August 2010 04:34 |
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Under a law signed by New York Governor David Paterson, visitors to the city will no longer be permitted to rent an apartment for less than 30-days. This is very sad news for budget travellers. When the ban on the short-term rental of apartments will come into force, budget travellers to New York will face dramatic price increase. These new restrictions do not meet the needs of the visitors who cannot afford the expensive hotels, or are looking to stay in a hostel. Currently a normal budget traveller saves on an average $150 a night on his visit to New York City. But when this law will be effective, tens of thousands of tourists will have to pay expensive hotel rates for their stays in New York City. New York City will now be a place where you can't simply contact a real estate broker and rent an apartment for the week of your stay. The new law doesn't help tourists figure out what's legal, so it's a huge pain for travellers. But B&Bs, couch shares, spare rooms, and anything listed on New York's official www.nycgo.com site are all still in the clear, according to the city tourism board. Fortunately, the New York City law leaves open plenty of options for budget and adventurous travellers (www.frommers.com).These options are: 1. Stay in someone's spare room. If you're not driving someone out of their home, New York says it's OK to stay. So staying in a spare room or on a couch (check out www.airbnb.com) is absolutely OK under the new law. 2. Stay in a B&B. B&Bs where the owner lives on the premises -such as the many handsome B&Bs in Brooklyn, as well as well-reviewed Manhattan lodgings like Country Inn are OK under the new law. These B&B’s are relatively cheaper than those five star hotels such as Hilton’s, Marriott etc. and are affordable by the budget travellers. 3. Do a home swap. If you also live somewhere desirable, home swaps are permitted in New York City. You'll get a free house-sitter, too! 4. Stay in a legal apartment-hotel. There are many apartment-style hotels in New York City. Check out the Affinia chain of well-reviewed suite hotels, as well as Flatotel, Korman's AKA, the Marmara, and Best Western Hospitality House. 5. Stay in a less-expensive location. If your major concern is price, check out the new cluster of hotels in Long Island City, Queens. Just across the river from Midtown Manhattan, brand-new buildings like the Country Inn & Suites and the Verve Hotel offer rooms for half of what you'd pay a five-minute subway ride away. And don't worry; it may be called "Long Island City," but it's still in the middle of NYC. The most troubling aspect for the City of New York will be that it will lose the tax revenue generated by these budget travellers. By making the effective date of this law May 1, 2011, property holders, business owners and not-for-profit corporations will be able to adjust the uses of their properties to the provisions of this law, or to dispose of the properties at issue so that they may find alternate sites for their current uses. For more information on where to find legal short term apartment stays in New York City visit the following websites: |
